Priority 600 2-Year Review

[@scottdasilva902]

Those hills are steep for a commute and even more so for touring weight. Excellent job!

[@rex758]

Thank you. That will answer my questions about this bycicle. My hat to you, you are in great shape, climbing that hill is not easy clime. But you have the will my respects to you and happy birthday soon.

[@richardsimms251]

Great presentation. Thank you.

[@elachichai]

The kick stand has to get the cake. Also it's a weapon against strays! ;)

[@cc103acs]

Yep… works well.

[@edwardgomez3633]

Nice job! Thanks for the video. I can’t decide between the 600 and 600x. You’ve got your bike set up really nice.

[@cc103acs]

Simple choice… if you ride mostly pavement and non-chunky rail trails then it is the 600… if you ride chunky gravel, single track, and mountain trails then it is the 600x. If it is the 600, watch for Black Friday sales.

[@Spectt84]

I noticed the familiar looking emergency vehicles and realized we are neighbors! I live in Middletown CT.

[@cc103acs]

Hey neighbor!

[@Rino-bicycle]

Thanks for the review, very interesting, I was looking at the Priority 600 as my next touring bike, my biggest concern was the lack of connection points, I'm glad to see that you have found a way to get the bike more stable with luggage, we are not very far from each other, I'm in New-Brunswick. I will follow you if you cross Canada, hope someday to have the chance to do the same.

[@cc103acs]

I am going to do a Quebec survey ride on the Petite Train du Nord north of Montreal… hub spoke touring. Going to a campground with my car then doing 2 rides - 55 km north then the same back to the start each ride. I am then driving to Quebec City and camping on Orléans Island with a ride around the island then out to Montgomery Falls followed by a short ride in the city to have a beer and snacks at Pub Saint Patrick. I plan on a longer tour in Canada but need to figure out logistics for long term parking of my car. The trail north of Montreal has parking at Saint Jerome with a shuttle to the northern end but heard horror stories about security in the main parking lot (car break-ins).

[@johnsmith-ke2sr]

Congratulations Sir on a very entertaining video, thank you. Plus I'm delighted to see the Priority 600 although I believe there is now a Priority 600X which is more of a touring bike with suspension fork. I'm just a few years younger than yourself so I found this inspirational thank you. I think I'll try the Priority 600X but I'm concerned you didn't have a low enough gear option in the claimed 600% gear range for the hill. Anyway, thank you very much and may the wind always be at your back.

[@cc103acs]

Thanks for your response! My issue with this older video was my fitness level at that time. The Priority 600 is a regular mountain goat - see my video on climbing Mount Greylock. It is my old legs and lungs that normally fail me. And, as for the 600x, that is a “bike packing” rig for off road and trails. My 700 is set up for “bicycle touring” on asphalt and dirt roads as well as hard packed trails. You will love the 600x if off road is your passion. Buy a Priority and have a hoot of an adventure.

[@Luigi13]

You did very well considering the weight you are carrying and the steep grade of the hills. I have seen a lot younger men that don't have a lot on their bike and stuggle to carry themselves on a 3-4% grade hill. Keep it up it is a lot better than any health insurance when you do these types of activities for sure? Cheers.

[@cc103acs]

Thank you for watching and posting such positive words.

[@richardsimms251]

I am 70 + years but I would be terrified to carry that weight on my bicycle. Maybe I should start adding a few things to my bike, one at a time. RS. Canada

[@cc103acs]

Two things to say in response… before I went on my multi day tour I loaded all of my panniers with weight… not always the gear I would actually use but just weight. I would then do a local ride of 10 miles or so. Each follow-on ride I would extend the distance. I also experimented with different configurations and settled on moving much of the weight off the front as it made steering a bit unstable. So, bottom line, at my age I had to train for it. The second issue is your word “terrified” - I was too. For my Maine ride, I chose mostly quiet country roads or rail trails. I had no choice but to take some busy roads and was absolutely terrified on occasion. But in those cases I was not shy about getting off the bike (and the road) and pushing the bike. So… route selection is important. I just returned from a ride in Canada and rode into Quebec City on bike trails. It was only when I got into the city that I had to deal with busy roads but was able to avoid bad situations. I also did not have heavy packs on my bike… a day touring configuration. On my way back to the USA, I did some recon on the rail trails in central and southern Quebec. If I lived there I would almost never need to ride on a road. I plan on riding the rail trails in Quebec or Nova Scotia next summer.

[@cc103acs]

That video was pretty bad. I made it before I upgraded my camera and sourced a decent microphone, I am actually going to redo that entire review… especially now that I changed out the handlebars.

[@seanbill942]

Great video!

[@cc103acs]

Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.

[@briantyhy4880]

thanks for posting dave. I would love to purchase the 600 but the thing that is holding me back is the 650 tire size. I am used to the 700c which makes for much smoother ride. Do you have any 700c bikes and what do you think of the 650 tires size. thanks for posting

[@cc103acs]

Yes, my road bike is a Specialized Roubaix with 700c tires. The Priority 600 is obviously a much different bike and is so much smoother than my road bike. Smoothness, in this case, has more to do with lower inflation numbers and wider tires. Also, I was able to go “tubeless” with more confidence as the high pressures of my Roubaix do not seem to work as well in the tubeless configuration. I had one puncture and the sealant was blown out with such force it was a total mess… sealed it but not pretty. From the large US REI stores to most bike shops to Amazon… 650 tires are widely available. Bottom line, no issues with the 650 tires… in fact, I love them.

[@briantyhy4880]

@@cc103acs thanks Ive been struggling with ordering the priority 600 because of the 650 tires. What about the rolling resistance of the wider tires. When I consider a eight hour ride over 100km 60 miles the wider tires will make a difference.Would you choose the priority for a longer multi day trip with the wider tires or your road bike? look forward to your next video brian from the yukon. riding season is coming to an end here

[@briantyhy4880]

@@cc103acs thanks I'll think I will go with the 650 and order the priority in the spring. thanks

[@elachichai]

Please tell about the video recording and editing. Equipment, Accessories, Mounts, Softwares

[@cc103acs]

Quick answer as I am cycling in Canada and have little time with WIFI. I use 3 caméras now… primary is GoPro 10, secondary is iPhone 14 for stills and some off-bike video, and third camera is the Insta360 4. The Insta 360 gives me low quality video but it is recording my surroundings all around but the advertised 5k is spread out is a very multi-directional area. It provides some cool shots but looks lower quality. My favorite mount for hands. Off filming is a magnetic chest mount… big flat magnet hangs around my neck, camera then attached to second magnet the is them magnetically locked to the one under my shirt. With the GoPro it is normally on a combined selfi stick/tripod and is stuck in my snack bag. I used a wired Mike to the go-pro into the GoPro media mount. Software for editing is simple… LumaFusion on an M1 iPad… easy and close to professional results. Still learning. All of this depends on what videos you are watching… this setup applies only to my latter videos. Hope this helps.

[@rptempmail1]

Hi and thanks for the review. can you please let me know if you went tubeless with your bike or running your tires with tubes and what are your thoughts on going tubeless? thanks again!

[@cc103acs]

Thanks for you question- I thought I answered you a while back but now don’t see an answer. So… excuse me it this is a repeat. I did go tubeless and it seems to be working well. When I returned from my ride to the Consumer Reports test track during the Jones Bar verdict video I noticed the rear tire pressure was down and then noted the small hole that was successfully sealed. So my thoughts are that it works well on a large low pressure tire. I have a road endurance bike as well (Specialized Roubaix) and the tubeless under high pressure does not seem to work as well.

[@rptempmail1]

@@cc103acs many thanks for your response. I appreciate it!

[@HullioGQ]

How does the hub generate electricity? All I remember as a kid was the dynamos from China.

[@cc103acs]

I really don’t know the technical internal workings of the Priority 600 dynamo. I also remember them on school and we cranked the dynamos and a light bulb was lit. This works the same way I suspect except we are cranking with our legs. What I have heard is that a Dynamo hub increases - ever so slightly - the work you need to do to move yourself on the bike. I unplugged the Dynamo and took a short ride. At the half way point i plugged it back in and ride home. I didn’t notice a difference. Bottom line, I like have a front and rear light going at all times - much more visible. I then save my battery operated lights for early morning or dusk riding.

[@kathleenclarke828]

I just thought of great training.....just go up and down that road everyday! sally riding on the back!

[@ehyle]

Wish you would say what gears you are in, especially on climbs.

[@cc103acs]

Wondering why… what are your trying to determine? I could set something up to do that for you personally but not sure it would have a very interested audience.

[@rfigueroa785]

What size 600 do you have?

[@speterson6292]

Hi Dave. At one point in this video you mentioned that you were filling your tires with something to prevent flats. What did you put in your tires and how is it working?

[@cc103acs]

I went tubeless and there are any number of products on the market to use as sealant. As I never did a conversion to tubeless before I had my bike shop help. First you need tubeless “ready” tires and rims. On the Priority 600 both are tubeless ready. What I didn’t know is the rim tape that comes stock is inadequate for tubeless. The shop measured the rim and ordered the proper sized rim tape and then completed the job. The liquid sealant I used was “Stan’s” and, here again, there are some things I didn’t know. When the tire is pierced the sealant is pushed out of the hole and eventually seals it. But, you do lose some air and, in my case, the tire was just below 20 lbs with a load on the bike… basically flat. After it self seals you will need to pump up the tire. Blowing it up can impact the fresh seal and my bike mechanic suggested to then rotate the tire so the sealed hole is in the down 180 degree position and let the sealant on the inside of the tire pool over the location of the hole. Let it sit there for a bit before you start riding again. A few weeks after my first disappointing experience I was riding a chunky rock strewn road and I saw the white sealant oozing out, stopped until the oozing ceased, blew the tire up, and let the liquid sealant pool in the tire over the hole. I sat down and had a snack, a bit of water, and then got back on the road… no issues.

[@speterson6292]

@@cc103acs Thank you,great to get first hand information from a “real world user.”

[@familyridesatl]

what are you using on the front fork to attach the small pannier bags?

[@cc103acs]

When I am touring, yes I attach the VERY small bags and they come in handy. For day rides I just carry the frame bag for tools and parts and a bag on my rear rack for camera gear and rain jacket. I used to have a reach where I mounted two 15 liter pannier bags but, when weighted down, I found it impacted my steering and balance. That is not bike specific but pack specific. I then when with only light loads up front and that was a bit better. As I tend to tour as light as possible getting rid of the rack and larger panniers made the bike so much easier to handle with my only concern is the impact on the rear wheel due to the weight distribution. So far… no spokes broke.

[@cc103acs]

I have one attachment point that I can pick up and the Ortlieb bags come with fork connectors to accommodate bikes with no attachment points and they are very solid and ingenious.

[@krissozolins8302]

I like your tyres. Can you share a model?

[@cc103acs]

American Classic Tire, Kimberlite Tubeless Ready - USD $45.00. I do run them as tubeless.

[@elachichai]

How do you change the camera angle?

[@cc103acs]

That could be the 360 camera… with that I don’t move the camera as it is recording everything. I use Insta 360 software to hone in on what I want the audience to look at. It is neat… look at my latest video of riding to the beach with my daughter. An Osprey flew off a nest on a telephone pole that I barely saw when riding - just caught a glimpse of the bird flying away. When I edited the footage I honed in on the top of the pole and got the entire takeoff and flight.

[@elachichai]

@@cc103acs do you also use a drone? Or have recommendations?

[@cc103acs]

@elachichai - No drone and no recommendations. I will tell you that just videoing a ride interrupts the flow and adds time to to your journey. Not to speak of the editing process after a short tour. I could not imagine getting a drone up, back down, and retrieving it if lost or crashed.

[@mnnsjr]

nice content! thanks. The audio must be better!

[@cc103acs]

Thanks…. The iPhone footage was not good and I am working on a new system. The Instant360 One R Camera I use discontinued their proprietary mic jack just before I was going to buy it. I have been using Aftershokz Aeroplex bone conducting headsets paired to the camera via blue tooth but that is not at all ideal. Saving up $$ for a GoPro with the Rode Wireless Mic system… until then, doing the best I can. Thanks for your feedback - the 360 degree camera gives me some awesome video and editing is a snap. Too bad the camera company has no concept of taking care of the customer.